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“Well, it is what it is.”
“I'm guessing by bad choices you mean your tattoos?”
“Yes, they hate them.”
My gaze moved to his arms and the swirls of colors and images that covered them. “I love them.”
He touched my chin with his finger and lifted my face to his. “So, what were you laughing about that first day in English?”
“I was laughing at what you would think if you knew what I was thinking.”
A slight smile touched his lips, “And what were you thinking?”
I couldn’t say it; it was too embarrassing. “I can’t.”
“We had a deal.”
“It’s too embarrassing, but I will say part of it was related to you being...beautiful.”
Those teal eyes turned darker and an expression that caused my blood pressure to soar, washed over his features. “I suppose I’ll take that as an answer for now.”
Considering my body flipped out whenever Bastian was near, I was surprised at how easy it was to talk to him. It was comfortable, as if we'd been friends for years. That meant something, I was sure of it, but I moved past that and asked, “Why did you bring me here?”
“It’s quiet so we can talk.” He gestured to the workbench and offered me the stool. He headed for the small refrigerator, asking from over his shoulder, “So you’re staying at your friend’s tonight?”
“I’m staying there for the next week.”
He looked surprised when he turned back to me. “Why?”
“My aunt and family went to Disney World.”
He reached for two Cokes. “And you didn’t want to go.”
“I wasn’t invited.”
It was because he was now standing right in front of me that I saw the clenching of his jaw. “They didn’t invite you to join them?”
“It was more than that. My aunt told me flat out that I wasn't welcome.”
“Bitch.”
“Yes, she is.”
He handed me my Coke. “So, I guess your home life is about as good as mine.”
“Yeah, your parents are disappointed in you and my aunt is disinterested and cruel.”
He hesitated before he asked, “Your mom and dad?”
“Mom died when I was eight, never knew my dad.”
Tenderness crept into his expression as well as the understanding that I really wanted to change the subject. He asked, “Any idea about what you want to do next year?”
“I'm hoping to go Columbia. What about you?”
“Honestly, I'm not sure, but my parents want me to go to Yale like my dad and his dad. That isn’t what I want.”
“What do you want?”
